This invention relates to mixed alkylsulfonium salts of N-phosphonomethylglycine, compounds which have been found to be effective herbicide and plant growth regulators.
Herbicides are widely used by farmers, commercial agricultural companies, and other industries in order to increase crop yields for such staple crops as corn, soybeans, rice, and the like, and to eliminate weed growth along highways, railroad rights-of-way, and other areas. Herbicides are effective in killing or controlling unwanted weeds which compete for soil nutrients with the crop plants, and by reason of the fact that they kill weeds, are responsible for improving the aesthetic appearance of highway and railroad rights-of-way. There are a number of different types of herbicides presently sold commercially, and these fall into two general categories. The categories are pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides. The pre-emergence herbicides are normally incorporated into the soil prior to the emergence of the weed plants from the soil, and the post-emergence herbicides are normally applied to plant surfaces after emergence of the weeds or other unwanted plants from the soil.
One of the earliest post-emergence herbicides used commercially was 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). After a number of years of use of this and similar compounds such as 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid), it was found that certain decomposition products of these herbicides were long lasting and were not biodegradable. While there has been some dispute between governmental agencies and commercial interests regarding the effects of residual products of 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T and similar compounds, the agencies nevertheless restricted the use of these herbicides in the United States some years ago. Since that time, efforts have been made to develop herbicides which are biodegradable into harmless residues within a relatively short time after their application.
One such compound, which has been found to be biodegradable, yet which is effective as a herbicide and plant growth regulator when employed at lower rates, is N-phosphonomethylglycine and various salts thereof. The N-phosphonomethylglycine and certain agriculturally effective salts have been approved for use by the U.S. Government, and, as a consequence, this herbicide has become commercially successful.
The N-phosphonomethylglycine and certain salts are the only effective and approved post-emergence herbicides in the field. The present commercial compound is the isopropylamine salt of N-phosphonomethylglycine and derivatives thereof.
In field use it is normally applied in amounts of from 0.01 to about 20 pounds per acre, preferably from 2 to 6 pounds per acre.